Journey to the Begining
by Kqurota Hestaine
Summary: They set out on a journey,each expecting a different thing, but they both found something completely different.
1. The Start of a New Adventure

Journey to the Beginning

A Laxus x Lucy Fairy Tail fanfic.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fairy Tail though I wish I did.

Chapter 1: The start of a new adventure

_There was a light shining in the distance, calling. It was a beautiful light, a heavenly golden white light that shone as if from the stars themselves. Lucy stood in awe of its beauty even as she strained to hear what the light was saying. She caught the faint whispers, "Find me and find your heart, child. Then I will hold you until you are bound heart to heart to the one who holds your heart." Lucy looked at the light in confusion and then alarm, as the light had begun to fade. She called out, "Wait, what do you mean find my heart? And what do you mean by 'the one who holds my heart'? Don't go! You haven't explained anything to me! Wait!" But the light was gone and an alarming beeping sound was ringing throughout the area. Afraid she jumped and ran after the light,_ and fell out of bed.

Lucy yelped as she hit the floor with a bang. She groaned and rolled over, "What a way to wake up," she muttered to herself, "and what was that dream all about?" Lucy sighed and stood up, turning off her alarm, the source of the beeping. "Well, whatever it meant I still need to get up and go to the guild." Lucy brightened up as a thought struck her, "I could ask Levy about the dream when I get to the guild and if she doesn't know then we can look it up!" She grinned to herself and nodded, and grabbing a towel and a change of clothes (she never knew when her team would suddenly barge in) and trotted into her bathroom to take her morning shower.

An hour and a half later she was approaching the guild hearing the usual warnings from the boatmen as she walked on the edge of the canal cheerily waving and smiling at them calling out morning greetings. She had had a surprisingly Team Natsu free morning. 'They must still be out on their missions.' She had gotten injured on their last mission and had been laid up for the past few days. Natsu, Gray, and Erza did not want leave but Gray and Erzas' rents were due and they needed to take jobs to pay them. Natsu went on a job in order to pay her rent since she did not have quite enough money to pay for it, but he had gone only when Lissana (who was now his girlfriend much to Lucy and Mira's delight) had promised him that she would take care of Lucy while he was gone. Lucy sighed again and shook her head grinning at the antics of her team, they loved her very much, and while she loved them too, they could be very overprotective and overbearing at times.

Grinning, with a last wave to the boatmen she hopped off of the edge of the canal and headed over to the guild hall doors calling out Plue as she did. She grinned down at her spirit and picked him up, "I promised you an ice cream sundae after I recovered for helping me didn't I?" Plue grinned cheerfully, "Puuun, Pun!" Lucy laughed as she walked in the guild doors, "Yup, so what kind of sundae do you want?" "Puun!" "A banana split, alright one banana split for Plue coming right up!" Plue smiled happily doing a little dance in her arms. Lucy came up to the bar and called Mira over. "What can I get for you Lucy?" "Could I get a strawberry smoothie and a banana split please?" "Of course Lucy, sit tight and they will be right up." Mira smiled at her and after handing Cana another barrel went to make her smoothie and Plue's banana split.

Smiling Lucy turned around and scanned the guild looking for Levy. She spotted the bluenette in the usual dark corner by Gajeel. Grinning she walked over after receiving her smoothie and banana split, sitting across from her friend. Looking up from her book Levy smiled cheerfully when she saw Lucy, "Hey Lu-chan, how are you? Is your leg better?" 'Yup, I'm completely healed thanks to Wendy and my spirits. Plue here," Lucy motioned towards Plue who was happily eating his banana split, "helped me every day by encouraging me when I was doing my exercises to strengthen my leg by doing the exercises with me and giving me one of his lollipops when I completed the exercises. So today I got him the banana split to thank him for helping me through that rather frustrating time."

Levy smiled at Lucy and Plue, "Your spirits are so sweet and supportive, Lu-chan! Unlike a certain oaf here who probably wouldn't even let me walk if my leg had gotten injured like that." Gajeel grinned at that comment, "Gihii, that's right Shrimp, I wouldn't let you walk on your own even if you could after an injury like that." Levy glared at him and spluttered, while Lucy giggled turning Levy's glare on her. Lucy just grinned remembering when they had finally, officially, gotten together a few months ago.

***Flash Back***

Levy had gotten fed up with Gajeel, telling Lucy, Erza, Lissana, Mira, Cana, and Evergreen all about it. Gajeel had shown interest and she had tried her best to show him that his interest was reciprocated, but he still hadn't done anything. He hadn't asked her out, hadn't talked to her about it, didn't even casually mention it in conversation, hell at that point she would have taken him throwing her over his shoulder and hauling her off as a positive response. But he showed no signs of doing anything, or even intending to do anything. She was confused, "Did I read the signs wrong and Gajeel isn't actually interested in me?" All of the girls hurried to calm her after that tearful admission. It was Mira who came up with the idea that all of the girls present, excluding Levy, observe how Gajeel reacted to Levy and see if he was really interested in her. By the end of the week, there had been no doubt, Gajeel was head over heels for Levy but completely awkward about it. They decided that if they wanted Levy and Gajeel to get together sometime before the next century, Levy was the one who was going to have to make the first move.

When they all met back up with Levy they told her about their findings. She was incredibly relieved and happy that she hadn't read the signs Gajeel was giving off wrong, but she was incredibly nervous about being the one to make the first move, "What if I mess up, or if I stop in the middle and can't say anymore? I don't think I can do it." Mira reassured her, "Sure you can Levy, just march right up to him and speak your mind, and ask him to go out with you." "Or you can just walk up to him and kiss him," Cana put in. "Is that how you hooked up with Bacchus by any chance was it Cana?" Lucy asked out of curiosity. "Yup, and damn if he didn't taste good." Levy blushed at Cana's comment, "I don't think I could do that, especially in front of the whole guild." "Well you could always corner him in a back room and have a talk with him there." All of the girls eyed Evergreen warily at that comment, they had wondered how she and Elfman had officially gotten together, but that was a little much TMI. Levy shook her head, "I don't think I could corner him even if I wanted to, he is way to strong and I am nowhere near scary enough to do that." Lucy finally spoke up at that, "Then maybe instead of confronting him like that, you just sit down with him in your usual corner and ask him if he wants to go out with you." Levy brightened up, "That is a great idea Lu-chan! I think I will do that." Mira clapped her hands, "Great, now that that that's settled you can go talk to him tomorrow!" Levy paled, stuttering, "T-t-tomorrow! That's way too soon. I'm not ready, no way!" "Yes way!" Mira chirped cheerfully, "And don't think you can get out of it," She continued with her dark aura around her face. "Yes, ma'am," was Levy's quavering reply.

The next day Levy walked into the guild later than usual and sat next to Gajeel, talking to him softly. They saw his face brighten and he grinned letting out his signature "gihii" before grabbing Levy's hand and hauling her to the request board and grabbing a job, showing it to Mira, and subsequently hauling Levy out of the guild. When they returned three days later Levy grabbed the girls and dragged them a corner on the second floor, telling them all about the mission. Mira squealed when Levy told them what happened at the end, "When we completed the mission Gajeel took me back to the hotel and I lost my virginity to him that night," Levy blushed and finished, "It was amazing, i-it felt amazing. He made me feel like a woman." The last sentence was spoken in a whisper, so all the girls had to lean in to hear her. All over girls grinned and Mira squealed and clapped, more gossip for the mills! "Get over here Shrimp!" Gajeel called out from his corner. Levy got up and said, "Sorry, but I've got to go now! Talk to you later." All of the girls smiled understandingly. Levy stormed over to Gajeel shouting that just because he was her boyfriend did not mean that he was the boss of her.

***End Flash Back***

"-chan, Lu-chan, LU-CHAN!" Lucy looked at Levy with a start, "What is it Levy?" "Oh, thank goodness, we were starting to get worried because you were spaced out for a good five minutes there." Lucy blushed, "Sorry, I was just reminiscing on how you two got together." Levy squeaked and held her suddenly burning cheeks, "Luu-chan! Stop that!" "Gihii" Levy slapped a grinning Gajeel on the arm, "You stop that too!" Lucy laughed, "Anyway I was thinking of taking a job now that I am better. It is a fairly easy one so don't worry." "What is the job for?" Levy inquired. "Oh, it is to find an ancient artifact in some ruins, I have been hanging on to it for a while looking for the right time to take it. I know for a fact my team wouldn't like it." "Why's that?" "The artifact in question is an ancient artifact said to be able to help you find your one true love and bind you together with them." At that Gajeel gagged and Levy smacked him again, "So it is like an artifact that helps you find who you love and marry you to them?" Lucy nodded, "Oh my gosh that is so romantic! Do you have any idea of who it could be? Oh, you're hoping it is Laxus aren't you?" Lucy blushed, "What do you mean by that?!" Gajeel looked down at Levy, "Laxus?" Levy sighed, "Lucy likes him and has liked him for a while." Gajeel looked at Lucy, noting the rather interested pair of eyes that looked down from the second floor, "Really, bunny-girl?" "No, Levy is just a little bit crazy when it comes to my (non-existent) love life." Levy snorted, "Crazy? No. She just hasn't realized it yet, and is in more than a little bit of denial." "I am not!" While the two girls continued to bicker, Gajeel looked on with entertainment at the girls and Laxus's face as his expression changed from slightly pained and disappointed, to elated, then determined. 'Gihii, there is another person here with unspoken feelings.'

Finally the two girls' quarrel wound down with both of them saying, "You'll see, I'm right." Sighing Lucy shook her head, "Well, I'm off to show this to Mira and head out on the mission. I will see you guys when I get back. Come on Plue!" Plue, who had long since finished his banana split, eagerly jumped into her arms waving goodbye to Levy and Gajeel. "See you later Lu-chan!" "Bye, bunny-girl" Lucy turned and waved and walked over to Mira showing her the mission, receiving approval, she headed out the door with a last wave to her friends. She didn't notice the look she was receiving for Laxus, however both Bixlow and Gajeel did, Bixlow having figured out what was going on between the two girls and knowing his friend and leader like he did, Bixlow groaned unknowingly sharing a thought with Gajeel, 'What, is he going to sabotage the thing?!'


	2. The Mission

**Hey everybody, here is chapter 2!**

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Fairy Tail, though I do dearly wish that I did.

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Journey to the Beginning ch.2

The mission

Lucy smiles to herself as she skips up onto the edge of the canal and begins walking home with Plue beside her. The boatmen call out their usual warnings to be careful and Lucy just smiles and waves, heading to her apartment. Seeing her building she steps off of the edge of the canal and heads into her apartment. It isn't until she is almost done packing that she realizes that she forgot to ask Levy about her dream. Lucy shrugs to herself, 'I'll just ask her about it when I get, back. After all, this job shouldn't take too long.' Finished packing, Lucy called Plue over and sent him back to the spirit world. Then she grabbed her bag and headed out to the train station to catch a train in the direction she needed to go. She walked up to the ticket window and purchased a ticket for a private compartment. Then seeing that she had a good half-hour before the train left, she went to some of the food shops to purchase food for the road, as it would be a fairly long train ride. Once she was stocked up she called out Virgo, "Punishment, Princess?" "No, Virgo, could you hold my bags in the spirit world please?" "Of course Princess. Is that all?" "Yes Virgo, thank you." Virgo bowed and left and Lucy boarded the train with a smile on her face. Oh, how she loved all of her spirits. She settled into her compartment just as the train took off.

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**Back at the Guild**

Laxus sat and pondered what he should do, 'With an artifact like that it could be infinitely powerful or terribly weak. If it is powerful, nothing I could do to it would make any difference. But if it is weak then she would never forgive me for damaging it. Maybe I should just follow her. But then that would make me look like a stalker. I know, I could take a mission near where Lucy's is and watch her that way.' Mentally patting himself on the back he got up to go look at the mission board when a thought occurred to him, 'I don't even know where her mission is located. Arrgh!' He thought about what to do about that and then simply resigned himself to revealing himself to Mirajane and hoping she restrained herself with the information. He was about to head down to the bar and ask her where Lucy's mission was when the demon herself ran past him into his grandfather's office with a look of panic on her face. Laxus wondered what was up, but he didn't have to wait long as the office door opened up and his grandfather called him in while Mirajane walked out looking fretful. Looking at her worriedly he headed into his grandfather's office.

Upon entering he was alarmed at the look on his grandfather's face, "What's up Gramps? What happened?" Makarov put his face in his hands and said, "This is about the mission that Lucy took." At that Laxus's eyebrows shot together and he stepped forward quickly letting the door close behind him as he stood in front of his grandfather, "What is wrong with her mission?" Makarov looked up at him gravely, "We just got a call from the magic council that as of this afternoon, the mission has been raised to S-class due to the location of the ruins." Laxus sat down, hard. Leaning forward he asked, "S-class? Isn't that against guild rules for her to take that mission?" Makarov sighed, "Not in this case. Since it was raised to S-class after she had already gone out on the mission, she has no way of knowing that the level of the mission was raised, so she will not receive punishment for taking this mission. However, I want you to catch up to her and continue the mission with her." "Why not send her team?" Makarov shook his head, "They are overly destructive and there are too many of them. I get the feeling that the team that goes on this mission should be small, and that she will need you on this mission more than any other." Internally, Laxus smiled at his grandfather's faith in him, though his face outwardly still showed a worried frown. "All right Gramps, I will head out after her, just give me a few minutes to pack and I will be off. Which direction is she headed in anyway?" "She is currently headed south-east, as far as the train lines will take her." "Understood, I will be on my way then." Makarov looked a Laxus's determined face and said, "Good luck Laxus, and keep Lucy safe." Laxus responded with his usual cocky grin, "Of course I will, you know me, I can do anything I put my mind to." Makarov smiled softly at Laxus's back, 'Except win the girl of your heart it seems, but maybe this mission will change that.'

Laxus left Makarov's office and headed out of the guild, stopping briefly to tell the Raijinshu that he was headed out on a solo mission. They wished him luck, and after he was outside of the guild he lightning teleported to his house and quickly pack his necessities and headed out. He was too worried about Lucy in that moment to realize that he was getting to what he wanted, being on the mission with Lucy.

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**AN: I hope you are all enjoying the story so far, I know I am. Please R&amp;R, I am not afraid of criticism, so if you feel that something is off let me know. Or if you just enjoyed the story, let me know that too! Also, I am looking for a Beta, so if you want to please PM me and let me know!**


	3. Expected and Unexpected Companions

**And we are back for another chapter!**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fairy Tail in any way shape or form. *cry*

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Journey to the Beginning Ch.3

Expected and Unexpected Companions

After leaving his house, Laxus turned into lightning and rather than teleporting he simple travelled at high speed until he spotted Lucy standing in a field not far from a train station. Laxus's brows knit together in confusion as he landed not far from her, 'Why is she out here? The train ride should have taken her much longer.' Walking towards her he called out, "Oi, Blondie!" Lucy turned looking like a startled deer, "What are you doing here Laxus? This is a little far out of the way for a pleasure jaunt. And you are blonde too you know!" Laxus snorted at her response, "I'm not here for a pleasure jaunt Blondie. The mission you are on has been raised to S-class as of this afternoon." Holding his hand up at her alarmed expression he said, "Gramps also says that since you took the mission before it was raised to S-class, you will not be punished. However, due to the fact that it is now S-class I will be accompanying you on this mission." Lucy glowered, 'Great, now I am stuck with Laxus." Sighing, she said aloud, "I was just about to make a call to the client with this communications lacrima," with that she held up the lacrima she held in her hand, "since we are both doing the mission together now, we might as well make the call together. Laxus nodded and stood next to her as she began to make the call. As the call connected Lucy resolved to make the best of this mission, who knows, maybe Laxus was actually better company than she thought he was.

When the call connected she turned her attention back to the communications lacrima, "Hello, I am Lucy of Fairy Tail and my companion here is Laxus also of Fairy Tail. I am here calling about the mission to retrieve an artifact from some ancient ruins. Could I please speak to the sender of the request?" The man shown in the lacrima smiled, "I am the request petitioner, thank you for accepting the request. Your only limit for the request is that you retrieve the artifact and bring it to me in Clover Town before this time next year." The two mages looked at him with amazement, he continued, "Since you both were introduced together I assume both of you are on the mission?" They nodded affirmative, slightly weirded out that he was so happy that there were two of them on this mission. "Oh, goody. Now I am sure you will want to know what the artifact looks like." At that Lucy found her voice, "Yes, please" The man in the lacrima smiled, "The artifact is small and golden and closely resembles the shape of a stamp, however it will be covered with strange designs and is flat on the bottom. I do not have any idea where it would be located in the ruins, however I do know that the ruins are far to the east and south." Lucy looked at the man in the lacrima and asked, "How do know the appearance of the artifact so well?" He smiled at her, "My family held the artifact for a number of years and had many replicas and paintings made of it. The replicas do not hold any power however, they just simply resemble it in appearance." Laxus finally spoke up, "You said the ruins are far to the south and east, we are near Hargeon, which way would we go from here?" The client stated, "You would not actually go to Hargeon, you need to go straight to the east from where you are and then turn south when you see a mountain range to the south of you. I will send a carrier pigeon with a map for you that will hopefully be helpful to you. The map will be waiting for you in the town directly to the east of you. That is all that I can tell you." Lucy responded gratefully, "Thank you for your directions and for the map when we get it." The client smiled and then disconnected the call.

Lucy turned to Laxus, "Alright Sparky, we now have a direction to go in, and a map to get. And the train lines won't take us any farther east than this." Laxus raised an eyebrow at her, "Sparky?" "Yup, if you're going to call me, Blondie, then I am going to call you Sparky," was the defiant response. Laxus sighed and rolled his eyes, internally grinning now that his worry had abated, he couldn't have come up with a better situation to be with her on this mission if he tried. He motioned to Lucy who was standing defiantly, "Come on Blondie, we have an artifact to find. Don't hold me up now." Lucy sighed and dropped from her defiant position, internally groaning, she just knew that this mission had become extraordinarily long, in more than one way.

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**AN: Hey everybody, sorry this chapter was so short, but the next one will be longer! Please R&amp;R, reviews fuel my writing spirit!**


	4. Adjustments and Danger

**Hello everyone, we are back for another chapter. Get ready for some Laxus x Lucy time and the whiff of some danger.**

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Fairy Tail. *sigh*

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Journey to the Beginning Ch. 4

Adjustments and Danger

Laxus and Lucy continued on their journey for nearly two weeks before they spotted the mountain range to the south. In that time they had gone to the town directly to the east of where they were which turned out to be the town surrounding the Akane Resort. They immediately went to the post office and picked up the map that was waiting there for them. They then went to a hotel in the town, and discovered that due to a festival going on in town, they had one room left, "We'll take it," was Laxus's response, and Lucy looked at him as if he was crazy, but didn't protest, since it was his money that they were spending. When they go to the room, Lucy groaned, it only had one bed. The bed was double sized sure, but the issue wasn't the size of the bed. Behind her Laxus internally drooped at here groan, but retain a firm posture on the outside. He ushered Lucy into the room and closed the door, setting the map on the table, "We are sharing the room for only one night Blondie, I think you can handle it." Lucy nodded glumly, but perked up when she saw the size of the tub in the bathroom, "I call first dibs on the shower though!" Laxus snorted, "Whatever Blondie, when you're done, we'll have a look at this map and then retire after dinner and I take a shower." "Okay!" was the response right before the bathroom door closed.

Lucy stripped and hopped into the shower, relaxing with a sigh as the warm water hit her body, "Ah, just right after a day on the road." Finished washing, she filled the tub and sat in it relaxing until Laxus called through the door, "I said 'take a shower' Blondie, not 'take a vacation'! Hurry up!" Lucy growled, but did get out of the tub and drain it. She dried herself off and called out Virgo for her bag. She selected a bright green fitted t-shirt and a pair of cut-off denim shorts, there was no need to impress Laxus, and quickly changed, drying off her hair and arranging it into two pigtails. Emerging from the bathroom she glared at Laxus, "For your information, I was enjoying what is probably going to be my last hot bath for several weeks." Laxus rolled his eyes at her, completely unaffected by her glare, "Come over here, I already ordered dinner through room service, so we can eat while we look at this map. Simple is okay with you right?" Lucy blushed and nodded, but since he was travelling with her for the mission, she felt he might as well know, "Simple is good. Actually, I can only eat simple foods while travelling. My body doesn't travel well. It's why I usually don't go on long missions with Team Natsu, because Erza likes to eat fancy when she can." Laxus nodded thinking of the times he had seen her return from missions, she had always seemed thinner after she got back from missions, and that would explain it. "Alright that's good since I generally don't do fancy myself." At that there was a knock on the door and room service came in with a cart with some covered dishes. They placed the dishes on the table between Lucy and Laxus and took off the covers and left, leaving two plates and bowls, a pitcher and two glasses and two sets of flatware. Lucy sighed and settled into the food, serving herself some of the chicken soup, and bread. Laxus looked at her plate, took it and added some of the mixed vegetables and a small slice of the pork. Lucy looked at it a little queasily, "Just try to eat some of everything, you don't have to eat it all," was Laxus's response to her look. She nodded and took small bites of everything on here plate, only finishing the soup and the glass of water she had poured for herself, 'She really does not travel does she,' Laxus thought to himself, making a mental note to limit their foods to really simple ones whenever he travelled with her.

Lucy looked at the table when she was done and noted with some surprise that, all of the serving dishes were empty, and so was Laxus's plate, then she face-palmed internally, 'Of course he finished it all, he is a dragon slayer isn't he? Not to mention he has almost more body mass than Natsu and Gajeel combined.' Laxus looked at her, "Well, now that we have eaten I'll take the dishes out into the hall and we can have a look at that map" Lucy nodded, still quiet. Laxus did as he said taking the dishes out into the hall, leaving the pitcher of water and the glasses, and opened up the map when he sat back down. Lucy scooted her chair closer to his to get a better look at the map.

If you were looking from the ordinary point of view the map was totally unhelpful, as it showed no country boarders or any cities or towns. The map only showed natural landmarks, such as mountains, and a dotted line showing the recommended route to take and a star marking a spot on the map. There was column of on the side of the map ending with the star mark, indicating that it was about the artifact, but the language was an ancient language that neither of them could read. Lucy looked at it and said, "Now I wish I had brought Levy with me, she could probably translate that in a heartbeat." Laxus snorted, "And undoubtedly Freed could do the same, but neither are here right now, and unless we plan to use the artifact, I doubt we need to know what it says, come on. I am going to take a shower, why don't you get ready for bed and I will be out when I am done." Lucy nodded, but couldn't shake the feeling that the writing that Laxus so easily dismissed was very important, and could affect them without their realizing it. She didn't know how right she was.

Several days later they were on the border to Bosco, setting up camp for the night. Laxus had gone to the stream to catch some fish for dinner and Lucy was getting the fire started. She was so glad that one of her childhood teachers had seen fit to teach her that, just in case she got lost on the estate and couldn't find her way home. Having started the fire she kept it small, but it gave off good heat and light, and she pulled out the map to study it some more. The day after they had left Akane, she had asked Crux to help her find out what the writing meant. He had scanned the writing and told her it would take some time to decipher, as it was both in an ancient language and written in a code. She had thanked him and he disappeared into the spirit world. That had been four days ago, and still all she could do was sit and wait while looking at the map. Reading the map, and tracing their course, she realized that they would be heading east for at least another week, if not longer. She sighed, this mission was quickly becoming quite a bit longer than she had anticipated. They had chosen to walk because they did not wish to miss any signs or have to back track, so they were taking much longer than she had previously anticipated. She had also thought that the train wen t farther east than it actually did. She sighed again, folding up the map and putting it away. She heard Laxus approaching, so she prepared the sticks they were going to use to cook the fish and was setting them up just as Laxus entered the clearing. Lucy noted that he had also washed," It's safe to wash?" "As long as you make it quick." Lucy nodded and gathering up a few things, trotted off to the stream to wash.

The stream was cold, so she washed quickly and jumped out, drying off and putting on clean clothes. When she returned to the clearing, Laxus was just removing the fish from the fire, and had a couple of rolls out for them to eat. Lucy sat next to him and he handed her two fish and a roll. They ate quickly and made small talk, while settling down for the night. It had been like this for the past five days. It made her miss her team and their closeness. Laxus must have been feeling the same way, because he broke the ice for deeper conversation that night, "I heard your mother died when you were little, what was she like?" "Why do you want to know?" "My mom died before I could remember and I guess I just want to get to know you a little better. That answer your question Blondie?" Lucy smiled, "Yeah, it does." So she told him about her mom, and wheedled some information out of him about his family, "So, basically your Dad is as bad as mine was, but in a different way." "Yeah, pretty much." "What is so depressing about my Dad, is that he only turned around after I had disappeared for seven years. I didn't even get to see him before he died, because he died about a month before we got back." A few tears slid down her face as she talked, and Laxus reached out before he thought about it and held her until her tears stopped, "Well, at least yours turned around, even if he died before we got back. Mine's still alive, but as you saw at the GMG, he is still an ass." Lucy giggled at that, and after a little more conversation about their families, settled down to sleep, neither paying attention to how close together they were.

After that, it became habit to talk about the deeper things with each other right before they went to sleep, though both were careful not to go too deep, neither noticing the affection that had begun to grow between them. And a week and a half later, they finally spotted the mountain range and turned south. They had figured out yesterday that they were probably about half-way across Bosco by now, and when they turned south, they were most likely headed towards the southern shore of Bosco. They weren't sure how they were going to continue to follow the map after they got there, Bosco's southern shore was almost entirely made up of cliffs. What Lucy was most concerned about though, was that Crux had not come back yet, to tell her the meaning of the writing, and she was getting very concerned.

Three days later they reached the mountain range, and looked at the map, the path on the map had an arrow by the mountain range indicating that they should go under it, rather than over it. They were wondering how they would do that when Lucy spotted the tunnel, "Look, Laxus, I think that might be what the map makers meant!" Laxus followed where her finger was pointing, "Or that could just be a rather large cave." Lucy turned and put her fisted hands on her hips, "Would they have indicated that we go under rather than over, if there was no way through?" Laxus saw her point, "Very well then, Blondie, lead on." "Yeah, yeah I will, Sparky." Laxus shook his head at her comment and the two headed towards the tunnel. When they reached it they peered cautiously inside, it was quite a bit bigger than it had seemed from a distance. Laxus backed away from the entrance pulling Lucy with him, "Come on Blondie, let's set up camp for the night out here, I get the feeling that is a place we don't want to go through when it is dark." Lucy nodded getting the same feeling, setting up camp a good distance away from the entrance, keeping their fire small and smokeless. For the first time since they had started out from Akane, they did not talk much and stayed quiet, both slightly unnerved by the aura emanating from the tunnel.

The next morning they packed up their camp and Lucy called out Virgo to carry their luggage and camping gear, as she had a feeling they would need all the freedom of movement they could get in that tunnel. They approached the tunnel, and after checking around them, entered the tunnel on guard, in case anything decided to come out at them. It was pitch black in the tunnel despite the light outside, so Laxus created a couple of balls of lightning to light their way. It was a fairly quiet journey through the tunnel, until they came up to a gap, it spanned the width of the tunnel and had no visible end. Laxus can hear the rush of water below and the sound of something, a strange clicking and rattling, that he has a feeling could be quite dangerous. Laxus sighs, "Come here Blondie, I'm going to lightning teleport across, so hold on tight." Lucy nodded and grabbed on to him, Laxus pulls on his magic and tries to lightning teleport, only to find that he can't. Looking up at Laxus and seeing the frustration on his face, Lucy asks, "What's wrong Sparky? Why doesn't your teleportation work?" "There seems to be a magical energy emanating from somewhere in this tunnel, that is preventing me from teleporting." He sighs, "You got any ideas of how to get across?" Lucy stands and thinks for a moment, noticing the stalactites that extended from the walls and ceiling, fingering her whip. Coming to a decision she turns to Laxus, "I do. I want you to throw me." Laxus looks at her as if she had grown three heads, "No." "Come on Sparky, I have a plan." "If it involves throwing people over a gap with no end in sight, then it is not a good plan." Lucy growled and stomped at that, before brightening as a thought came to her. She grabbed the keys on her hip and called out Taurus, "Mooo! Lucy, you have a nice body as ever!" Lucy sighed, "Taurus, could you please throw me over the gap, I have a plan to cross the gap." Taurus looked at her, "Are you sure?" "Absolutely." And before Laxus could find his voice, Taurus picked Lucy up and launched her at the nearest stalactite. Lucy grabbed her whip and extended Fleuve d'etoiles, latching on to the stalactite with it, and used it to swing her body forward towards the next stalactite. Releasing the previous stalactite, she latched onto the next stalactite, and using her momentum, repeated the process. She continued in the same manner until she reached the other side of the gap. Landing on the ground, she sees that the exit is just behind her, and judging by the light coming through, it wasn't even noon yet. Smiling, she reached down and used Taurus's key and sent him back, knowing that though he couldn't hear her, he could still feel her.

**-Just after Lucy leaves on the other side of the gap-**

Laxus couldn't believe that girl. She just had her spirit Taurus throw her out above the gap. Laxus groaned and sighed starting to get worried as he had no idea what happened to her, Taurus was relaxed, and Laxus took that as a good sign, but he just couldn't seem to relax. He had lost sight of her a few minutes ago, and despite all his reassurances to himself, his worry kept mounting, and he frets over the fact that he cannot reach her, hell he can't even see her. His mounting worry is only increased when Taurus disappears, and he begins believing the worst, as he had been hearing increased activity in the gap below for the past few minutes. Then after a moment, he sees a faint light that grows a little brighter in the distance, which filled him with both fear and hope. Only Lucy would be on that side of the gap, but if she was using that much magic she was most likely in danger.

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**AN: In case you haven't noticed I suck at author's notes, so I try to keep them small and the pain short. But, please R&amp;R, reviews really fuel my writing spirit, that and if I get 5 reviews I will post the next chapter, which I have already written. Criticism is welcome.**


	5. Faith and Fear

**Sorry, I know you are going to hate me at the end of this, but I promise I am working on the next chapter!**

**Disclaimer**:I, unfortunately, do not own Fairy Tail, no matter how much I want to.

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Journey to the Beginning ch.5

Faith and Fear

**-On the Lucy's side of the gap-**

After Lucy sent Taurus back, she pulled out Sagittarius's key and called him out. "Moshi, moshi! What can I do for you Princess Lucy?" Lucy turned him to face the gap, "Could you please shoot an arrow with a rope attached to the other side of this gap?" Sagittarius looked closely at the gap and turned to Lucy, "I think it may be impossible for me Miss Lucy. Moshi, moshi." Lucy looked at the ground for a moment and then looked him in the eye, "I believe you can do it Sagittarius, I have faith in you." Following her statement, Sagittarius begins to shine with a golden light, and he feels strength flow into him. Feeling Lucy's belief in him, he faced the gap and raised his bow, shooting and arrow that glowed pure gold to the other side of the gap, the rope trailing behind. Lucy stares at him in amazement, "Why are you glowing like that? And then you just made that shot!" Sagittarius looks at her proudly, "It is your belief in me that gave me this extra power and gave me the ability to make that shot."

At that moment, Loke appeared looking in awe at Lucy, "Loke! Why are you looking at me like that?" For a moment it appeared as if he couldn't speak, and then he told her, "You are truly our Princess, Lucy." When she only looked at him quizzically he said, "Only celestial wizards who care deeply for their spirits and have unwavering faith in them, could empower their spirits with their belief as you just did. I am truly honored to be contracted to you Lucy." Lucy bowed her head and blushed at the compliment, her spirits were truly wonderful, she doubted she could live a day without them and their love and support. She raised her head and faced Loke, but before she could say anything, Sagittarius's eyes widened and he let out a shout, making them turn to see what it was, and they momentarily froze in fear.

**-On Laxus's side of the gap-**

After Laxus started to see the light a piece of the light started shooting towards him, as it got closer he identified it as an arrow with something attached to it. He leapt out of the way as it came barreling towards him and embedded itself in a stalagmite that was right behind him. As he watched, the golden light faded but the arrow remained. He noticed a piece of paper tied to it and removed the note. It read, "_Mr. Laxus, Miss Lucy asked me to shoot this arrow to your side of the gap, please use the rope attached to climb across the gap. Moshi, moshi. –Sagittarius"_ Laxus sighed in relief, the golden light had been Sagittarius shooting the arrow, not Lucy being in danger. Looking up from the note, Laxus noticed the rope attached to the arrow for the first time. It stretched in a straight line across the gap as far as he could see. Tucking the note into his pocket, Laxus grabbed onto the rope, and praying that it would hold his weight began to climb across.

Laxus was making good progress, and figured whatever the rope and arrows were made out of, it was awfully sturdy, as there was only a little bit of bend in the rope, and no sign of breakage. He had made it about halfway across when he froze, staring down below him. He was finally seeing the creatures he had been hearing since they had encountered the gap. They we lit up by eerie pools of a strange substance that was emanating the magical energy that kept him from lightning teleporting. The creatures were hideous. They had round and bulbous bodies that were covered with thick hair, much like spiders, but they only had six legs and were much too large. The monsters also sported large, heavy claws in the front and had oversized mandibles that too much resembled a pair of pincers. Completing the ensemble that made up the monsters was a large tail that curved up over its back like a scorpion tail, with a large barbed tip at the end that was dripping poison. He could tell only two things about them, one: they were incredibly powerful, and two: they were incredibly dangerous. But what he saw next froze his blood in his veins, the monsters were beginning to climb the cavern walls, towards Lucy.

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**AN: I am evil, Muahahahaha! R&amp;R please! I get more reviews, you get next chapter, and find out what happens to Lucy.**

**P.S.: I am still looking for a Beta, PM me if you are interested!**


	6. Fight and Flight

**Hello everyone! Here is the chapter you have been waiting for! Now you get to see my first attempt at a battle scene. Let me know what you think of it!**

**Disclaimer:**I do not, and never will, own Fairy Tail.

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Journey to the Beginning ch.6

Fight and Flight

**Previously: **_What Laxus saw next froze his blood in his veins. The monsters had begun to climb the walls of the cavern, towards Lucy._

Laxus unfroze in an instant, everything in his body screaming at him to get to the other side, while his inner dragon sends that he should have never let her out of his sight. Laxus does his best to speed up his progress, but he was hampered by his mode of transportation. Looking above him at the stalactites he has an idea. Laxus pulled himself up and balanced on top of the rope, using the stalactites to stabilize himself. He hurried down the rope using the stalactites to keep him on top of the rope. Almost within sight of the other side, he heard a sound that made his blood run cold, Lucy's scream. He slipped and nearly fell off the rope but managed to regain his balance using the stalactites, and ran the remaining distance to Lucy, afraid of what he might see.

When she came into Laxus's view, it was not as bad as he had feared, but it was still not good. One of the monsters was already dead, the arrows peppering its corpse telling how it died. A second monster was being beaten down by Loke. And Lucy was dodging and whipping at a third, while a fourth was climbing up over the edge. Without thinking, Laxus launched himself onto the third monster, heedless of its tail, and killed it with his lightning. Lucy looked up at him with gratefulness in her eyes, and then shrieked in pain. Leaping off of the dead monster Laxus runs up to Lucy, seeing no sign of injury he pulls her close and looks around. He finds the source of her pain when he spots Sagittarius. He was impaled in the tail of another monster, while the fourth one that he had spotted slipped back over the edge, dead and full of arrows, colliding with other monsters and bringing them down with it.

He looked back at Sagittarius just as he disappeared, "I apologize Miss Lucy, I cannot stay and help any longer." Lucy cried as he disappeared, and reached down and grabbed Taurus's key, she called him out, "Mooo! I will protect Lucy's beautiful body!" Wiping away her tears as Taurus charged forward, Lucy assed the situation. It was not bad, but not good either. She and Laxus were whole and still mostly unharmed, and Loke was taking down a third monster, while Taurus and Laxus each struck down a monster in one blow. Loke launched back towards her after finishing of his monster, "Lucy, I have discovered that these monsters have a weakness to light. They collapsed after a single, barely powered Regulus punch. I think that if we get outside into the daylight, they will not pursue us." Lucy nodded, "Laxus, Loke and I have a plan."

Laxus went towards her as he finished off the monster he was fighting, "Loke says that the monsters are weak against light, and the exit is right there," Lucy motioned behind them and Laxus saw what she meant, the exit was only a little ways behind them, "so if we can get out, they most likely won't follow us," he finished for her. Lucy nodded and saw Taurus backing towards them, having heard the plan. The group started backing towards the exit and were almost there when the light was blocked. Lucy turned to see what had blocked the exit and saw that one of the monsters had somehow gotten behind them, blocking off the exit, "Taurus!" Taurus turned to see why she was calling and seeing Lucy motioning towards the monster, he charged forward, "Mooo!" Lucy turns back to see that the monsters behind them are coming up fast, and has a moment of panic. She looks around desperately for a solution, and then she remembered her second origin, she always kept it in reserve in case she needed it instead of leaving it open all the time. Now she opened her second origin, "Second origin, release!" using the power, she pulled it together and grabbed Scorpio's key. Seeing what she was about to do Loke shouted, "No Lucy don't, you don't have enough power. Stop!" Lucy continued on undaunted despite Loke's warnings and calls out Scorpio, "We Are! I've got your back Princess!" With that Scorpio joins the fight. Lucy collapses, and Loke shouts, "Look out Lucy!" She turns to see one of the monsters right on top of her, tail poised to strike. She barely stumbled out of the way, but the tail still scraped her shoulder and she felt a shock as the poison from the tip entered her system. She managed to stumble away before falling and Loke leapt over her, beating down the monster, his form and Laxus's lightning arcing over her the last things she saw before she blacked out.

Loke turned from the dead monster to face Lucy, but she was unconscious. Then Taurus rushed forward and picked her up carrying her out of the now-clear exit. The rest of the group following. They burst out into the late afternoon sunlight, and Loke watched as the first of the monsters tried to follow them out, but when the sunlight hit it, it started to burn and let out an unearthly screech that made the hair on the back of his head stand up, and the monster scuttled back inside the tunnel. Turning back to the group he sees Taurus give Lucy to Laxus, just before he and Scorpio disappeared. Loke and Laxus looked at each other and came to a silent agreement. Together they rushed into the forest, just outside the mountains, safe for now, but with Lucy and her condition, weighing on their minds.

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**AN: All right folks let me know what you think of this chapter. R&amp;R please! Praise and criticism alike are both welcomed!**


	7. Poison and Safety

**Hey everybody! The wait is over. Now you get to see if Lucy survives or not.**

**Disclaimer:**I, sadly, do not own Fairy Tail. *sob*

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Journey to the Beginning Ch.7

Poison and Safety

**From last time:** _Together they rushed into the forest, just outside the mountains, safe for now, but with Lucy and her condition weighing on their minds._

Laxus and Loke ran through the forest until they came upon what looked like a man-made path, too small to be a road, but too large to have been made by the animals they had seen in the forest. Looking at Laxus, Loke stepped forward towards the path, "I think we should take the path," Laxus interrupted him, "It could be a trap or something made by those monsters when they come out at night." Loke shook his head, "I know for sure that it is not made by the monsters, and there is none of their energy in the forest beyond the very edge. There is a very different energy flowing through the forest, something pure and clean. I have not felt anything like it before." Laxus looked at him, "So you don't think it is a trap?" "No, there is too much clean energy flowing through the forest, I can see that the energy of the forest is slowing the poison in Lucy's body, but she still does not have much time left unless we get her help." Laxus looked at the woman in his arms, she had begun to shiver and felt slightly cold. He took off his coat and wrapped her in it. Looking a Loke he nodded, "Alright, we will take the path, if only to get Lucy treatment faster." Having come to an agreement they set off down the path.

They had been going at a steady pace for an hour when they reached the edge of the forest. Loke gasped, "What's wrong? Is there dark energy on this side too?" Loke shook his head, "No, I just felt a sharp upswing in the positive energy, like it was muted inside the forest, and now that we are outside of the forest, it is pure and without any barriers. This energy should help to improve Lucy's condition once we treat the poison." Laxus nodded, once again checking on the woman in his arms, her shivers had increased steadily over the past hour. Loke looked at Lucy in concern, then shaking his head to refocus himself said, "Come on, I see something that looks like it could have potential for finding a cure for her, or at least a place that we can stop at and investigate the poison ourselves." Laxus nodded, mute with worry. The pair continued down the path at a faster pace, nearly running to reach the building in the distance. Laxus noted as if from far away that the sun was beginning to set, the golden light making the path they were on seem to glow.

When they finally reached the building it was nearly dark. The building was a tower that seemed to radiate positive energy. They pushed open the carved oak doors and came to the main chamber, it was round and seemed to radiate with light, though there was no light source to be found. They looked around to see if there were any people there calling out, "Hello! Is there anybody here?" Hearing no response and seeing no one, they went to the side of the chamber and set Lucy down. Just then Virgo appeared, holding a vial in her hands, "Crux made this as fast as he could, it should neutralize the poison, but it can be assisted if lightning is used on the patient after giving them the antidote." Looked up with hope, "So Crux knows what those things were?" Virgo shook her head, handing Laxus the vial as he motioned frantically for it, "No he doesn't. The only thing he knows is that they are not natural and should not even exist. He has a feeling that Zeref may have had a hand in their creation." Turning to Laxus, Virgo instructed, "Crux stated that the whole vial should be taken as the dosage. Though I do not know how you are going to get Princess to swallow it." Laxus nodded, "I'll take care of that part." So saying, he raised the vial to his lips and poured it into his mouth, taking care not to swallow. He then lowered his mouth onto Lucy's after opening her lips with his fingers and let the antidote slip into her mouth. They watched pensively as her throat moved as she swallowed the antidote. Seeing little change in Lucy's state, Virgo said, "You are going to have to help it along with lightning Laxus, the poison is too far along. Loke and I will hold her down while you apply the lightning." Laxus nodded, worry filling his eyes as Loke and Virgo got into place, Virgo holding down Lucy's legs while Loke held down her shoulders. Loke looked at Laxus, "We're ready." Laxus nodded, mute with worry and determination.

Laxus reached down and placed his hands on Lucy's chest and stomach, taking care to have one hand above her heart, and one below, as if he was a living defibrillator. Taking a deep breath, Laxus started pushing his lightning into Lucy. For a moment there was no change, then Lucy started jerking and seizing. It was all Loke and Virgo could do to hold her down so that Laxus could continue to apply the lightning. Even as she was jerking and seizing, they began to see a change in her complexion. Her skin slowly gained more color, as if coming back to life, and they could feel her life energy start to flow smoothly through her once again. This continued on for a few more minutes until Virgo felt the poison finally leave Lucy's body, "You can stop now Laxus, the poison is gone." Laxus sighed in relief, gratefully removing his hands from Lucy's body, tears streaming silently down his face. If Loke or Virgo saw the tears, neither commented on it, as they busied themselves getting Lucy comfortable on the bedding that Virgo had brought with her. Virgo lightly cleared her throat, drawing his attention to her, "Now that Princess has been treated and settled, I must take my leave. I will come back when she wakes with a change of clothes for her. I have also set out some bedding for you and Loke as well." Bowing, she left for the spirit world.

Laxus turned to Loke, seeing that he was looking around the tower, "Why are you looking around? We already know no one is here." Loke looked back at Laxus, "I was actually checking at the aura of the tower, now that I had a chance to actually examine it without other things occupying my mind." Loke smiled weakly, "It seems that this tower is a very good place for us to have stopped," Laxus raised his brows, "The positive energy I have been feeling since the forest is strongest in here, most likely because the tower or something within it is the source of the energy. In addition, now that we are near the source, I can feel that it is not only pure and clean, but is also filled with light and healing power. So Lucy should have a fast recovery as long as she is in this tower." "Do you think that is safe?" "Very," Looking around Loke stated, "The energy also stops anything with darkness or dark energy from entering in, and if I am right, even approaching the tower. We will be safe here." Laxus nodded, "Well, if we are safe, we might as well turn in for the night ourselves." Loke nodded and the two moved their bedding into a comfortable place and settled down. Loke saw Laxus place his bedding right next to Lucy's and curl around her, but made no comment, giving Laxus his silent approval. They closed their eyes and settled down for sleep, both dropping into deep and dreamless sleep as the long and stressful day caught up with them.

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**AN: Hope you all liked that chapter! Just so you know I have more chapters written already. So if you R&amp;R, i will post them one by one. If I get a lot of reviews, I just might post more than one.**


	8. Awakening and Heaven

**Hello everyone! Be warned: this chapter contains Laxus and Lucy fluff! And a scarily resourceful Virgo. Now onward with the chapter!**

**Disclaimer:**I do not own Fairy Tail.

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Journey to the Beginning Ch.8

Awakening and Heaven

Nearly a week later, Lucy began to stir, cracking stiff eyelids open to peer out at the world. Immediately two blurry forms came into her field of vision, slowly resolving themselves into the teary smiling faces of Loke and Laxus. She tried to ask why they were crying, but her voice came out as nothing more than a rusty croak. Loke chuckled a little and left her field of vision. She tried to sit up to follow him, but all of her muscles and bone protested the movement, making her whimper in pain. Laxus gently put a hand behind her back and helped her sit up against the wall as Loke came over with a canteen that she discovered was full of water. Loke controlled how much she drank at a time, limiting her to small sips as she drank the water gratefully, unable to lift her arms.

When she was done she was able to speak, "Why were you guys crying?" Loke set down the canteen and stroked the top of her head, "You were out for almost a week after the monster attacked you and its poison entered your body. Luckily Crux was able to make an antidote, though Laxus had to help it along with his lightning." "Oh, so that is why my body is so stiff." Loke nodded, looking over his shoulder. While they had been talking, Laxus had gone over to the bags that Virgo had delivered the day after they arrived, pulling out some food. He came over with it now. "Here Lucy, I got you some soft foods and I will heat up some soup if you would like." Lucy looked down at the food he held, he had brought over some cheese and fruit, along with what looked like a carton of milk. "How on earth have you managed to keep milk and cheese from spoiling?" Lucy asked even as she took some of the fruit from Laxus's hand, too concerned with getting something into her empty belly to notice how long Laxus's hand lingered against hers. Loke grinned at her question, "Virgo somehow managed to turn a bag into a portable, lacrima powered refrigerator."

Lucy laughed, aggravating her sore throat and ribs, but it felt so good to laugh that she didn't care, even when she started to cough. Loke and Laxus leaned forward with concern, and she waved them away, "I'm fine really, just aggravated my throat that's all. Though turning a bag into a refrigerator does sound like something Virgo would do." Finished eating, though she had only eaten a little bit of the fruit and only a couple bites of cheese, she tried to settle back down, but found she didn't even have the strength to move her own bum, "Do you think one of you could help me?" they smiled at her and Loke helped her settle back down into the bedding and she drifted off into a natural sleep as Laxus settled down beside her.

When Lucy awoke the second time, she felt refreshed and was able to sit up and stretch on her own. Looking around, she didn't see Loke or Laxus so she started to get to her feet. Pleasantly surprised that should could stand up, she looked around again with a better view now that she was standing, 'The water and food I had when I woke up last time must have strengthened me more than I thought.' Seeing neither Loke nor Laxus once again, she stepped off the bedding and walked forward towards the bags in the middle of the room. "Loke! Laxus!" She called out. Hearing no response, she shrugged and dug into the bags, hunting for food. In a dark green duffle, she found nothing but cooking implements. Leaning back she looked at the bag, it appeared to be only slightly full, but when she looked back into the bag it was full of a plethora of pots and pans as well as spatulas and spoons and other cooking utensils. Shaking her head at Virgo's physics defying packing ability, she looked into the next bag, a dark blue saddle bag, it was full of cloth balls. Confused, she picked one up and sniffed it, finding it full of what smelled like herbs. Chuckling, she closed the bag and moved onto the next one. T

The third bag was a light blue and was cold on the outside, 'Maybe this is the refrigerator bag.' She opened up the bag and stared at the contents. It was not so much a refrigerator as a freezer, filled to the brim with frozen meats, though some looked rather freshly caught. Closing the bag with wide eyes, wondering at Virgo's abilities, Lucy looked into the next bag. This bag was a light green backpack and had various changes of clothes, though when she took out a shirt, it was clearly for Laxus, as it could have easily reached mid-thigh on her. Putting the shirt back, she moved onto the next bag. Here she found what she was looking for, just not in the amounts she was expecting. It looked as if Virgo had taken the entire dry pantry of a palace and fitted it into a bag. Looking at in slight alarm, Lucy sifted through it and found some fruit and nuts and another canteen of water. Setting down her finds and digging into the fruit she continued looking through the bags, hoping one of them had clothes for her.

After sifting through another four bags, and in the process finding the refrigerator bag and snagging some more cheese, she found a bag full of clothes for her. It was a light pink backpack with a flower motif. She sifted through the bag with an apple gripped in her teeth, abandoned for the moment at the prospect of clean clothes. Retrieving an outfit she liked, short denim blue shorts, a light brown shirt with a flower printed on the front, a plain brown bra, and a matching set of panties, she looked curiously at the final bag. It was a fairly plain bag, but very large, with a black and white checkerboard pattern. Opening it up, she stared. It was a full bathroom, complete with a shower and tub, in a bag. "Virgo, you scare me sometimes," Lucy muttered to herself as she looked at the bathroom.

She was wary, but a chance at getting clean was too much to pass up, so she stood up and stepped into the bathroom bag. Humming happily, she got into the shower after seeing that she could open and close the bag from the inside, checking twice to make sure she could. After showering, she filled the tub, amazed that somehow Virgo had connected the bag to some sort of plumbing source, and settled down to soak. Waking at hearing worried voices outside of the bag, she realized that she had unintentionally fallen asleep in the tub. Hurrying out, she drained the tub and dried herself off, putting on her clean clothes and tossing the dirty ones into the laundry hamper she saw in the corner.

Unzipping the bag from the inside, she startled Loke and Laxus who stared at her as she emerged from the bag, clean and in clean clothes, "Sorry I worried you guys, I discovered that Virgo had managed to put a bathroom in a bag and made use of it, though I did fall asleep in the tub." Wide-eyed Loke pushed past her, staring into the bag, Laxus peering over his shoulder. "That does it, Virgo is officially terrifying," was Loke's comment, once he found his voice. Closing the bathroom bag they turned to face her. She had turned back to the food she had accidentally left out earlier when she discovered the bathroom in a bag, and started digging into the food, glad that none of it had spoiled while she was in the bag. Grinning they sat down next to her, after selecting their own choices from the food bags. "Where were you guys all day?" Lucy queried, "We were out hunting and gathering supplies from the forest while we have the chance," Was Laxus's response. Nodding, content with the reply, Lucy dug into her food along with the other two, and there was silence for a moment while they all ate.

Once they were finished, Laxus turned to Lucy, "We need to talk Lucy, about that stunt you pulled in the tunnel." Lucy winced, looking up at him, she had had a feeling it would come back to bite her in the ass, and it did, hard. Laxus looked down at her with a stern expression, gripping her shoulders, "You could have died pulling that stunt, and nearly did." With that he gave her a little shake, "When you are in a group, no matter whether it is two or ten, you never strike out alone Lucy, never. We go in groups for a reason, to increase safety by using numbers. If we get separated, then that safety is negated, do you understand what I am saying?" Lucy nodded, mute with shame, "If you understand, promise me you will never even attempt a stunt like that again." "I promise," Lucy said quietly, voice thick with shame. Laxus wrapped his arms around her and drew her close saying, "I don't want you to feel belittled, but I also don't want to go through that kind of fear again. I almost lost you." Lucy looked up at him with surprise in her eyes, "What do you mean, _you_ almost lost me?" Laxus smiled softly down at her, "Exactly what you think it means." Lucy blushed and tucked her head in his chest, peeking back up at him after a moment, "So it is okay if I return your feelings?" "Absolutely." Lucy snuggled against his chest, calm and happy, because even if she didn't return his feelings fully right now, she had a feeling that they would grow inside her in the future.

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The next morning when she woke up, she was alone again, 'They must have gone out again, to make sure we have enough supplies to last the whole journey.' Getting up she looked around, and moved to the bags, pulling out a new outfit and using the bathroom bag again, only taking a shower this time. Stepping out, she went to the food bags and grabbed a breakfast of fruit and cheese, washing it down with some orange juice. Done with eating, she looked around again, 'There aren't any books to read, or anything in particular to do, and if I just sit here I will die of boredom. Hmm, wait, is that a staircase?' It was, as she discovered, straight back from the entrance was a stairwell that spanned both up and down from the floor she was on. Curious, and with nothing else to do, she started down the stairs to see what was on the lower floors. As she descended, she was amazed at the architecture and design of the tower. With the light coming in from the windows in the stairwell she saw that the tower was made of a light tan stone with a warm earthy tone, and was smooth to the touch. In addition, the walls were covered with graceful carvings of almost unearthly beauty. She stopped for a moment to trace the design of a tree, more graceful than any she had ever seen in any forest.

Continuing on, she descended down to the bottom of the stairwell, the only opening she could find while going down. Looking around the room, she saw more carvings, though they had changed tone slightly and had a more arcane feel to them. She also saw a strange circle on the floor, which looked very much like a magic circle. She decided not to approach it staying on the side of caution, and retreated back up the stairs. Upon reaching the ground floor she checked the position of the sun, and seeing that it was not quite noon, she decided to continue exploring and headed up the stairs.

As Lucy proceeded up the stairs she noticed that the tine of the carvings was changing again, depicting pictures of light, water, and fire in various forms, light becoming more predominant as she continued up. She also noticed that there were no other openings except at the very top of the stair. She went up and stepped out into the upper room, and lost her breath. The room was beautiful. Like the rest of the tower, it was circular, but it had waist high walls, above which were large openings that served as windows, separated by graceful columns that supported the roof. When she looked up, she saw a carving on the ceiling that looked like the clouds of heaven parting as a single beam of light came down. Following the path of the light with her eyes, she spotted the pedestal in the middle of the room. As she approached it she saw that there was something on it. Walking towards it she saw that it was a key. It was pure white with a pattern of arching wings outlined in gold on the base of the key. It spanned down from the base of the wings, ending in a burst as if it were liquid light pouring over something.

Lucy picked it up wide-eyed as she recognized it as one of the legendary Heavenly Keys. No one knew how many there were, only that they were extremely powerful, and equally as rare. Examining it, she decided that it must be the key to the Phoenix, the healer. Excited she held the key close, smiling. She jumped when she heard a voice calling her name from below. Yelping with joy, she rushed down the stairs, anxious to show Loke and Laxus the key that she had found.

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**AN: I hope you liked this chapter and the progress with Laxus and Lucy. I will post more of the chapters I have written if I get more reviews. So R&amp;R please!**


	9. The Key of the Phoenix

**Welcome back everyone! I hope you are ready for some explanations and a flood of learning! We get to find out who the spirit is!**

**Disclaimer:**I do not own Fairy Tail.

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Journey to the Beginning Ch.9

The Key of the Phoenix

When Loke and Laxus returned from their hunting excursion they groaned when they saw Lucy's empty bedding, but no Lucy. Taking their kills they placed them in the freezer bag, knowing that Virgo would take care of skinning and gutting, and dividing up the meat. They placed their other finds in the refrigerator bag and began to look for Lucy. They first checked the bathroom bag, thinking she might have fallen asleep in the bath again, but saw no sign of her in there, other than more clothes in the hamper. Closing the bag, they started to call for her, "Lucy!" Oi, Blondie! Where the hell are you?" They heard what sounded like a faint shout from above and turned to face the opening in the back of the tower. They started walking towards it and were almost there when Lucy came bursting out of it, excitement written all over her face, "Loke! Laxus! Look what I found!" They looked at what she held out to them in her hands, "It's a key, looks like a gate key too. Nice job Blondie." Lucy grinned, Loke however was just staring at the key slack jawed, "Loke are you okay?" Lucy asked concerned. Loke didn't seem to respond until he spoke, his voice little more than a whisper, "That's a Heavenly Key." Lucy smiled, "Yup!"

Suddenly Loke's eyes widened as if he had an epiphany, 'That's it! We are safe here because you will only find Heavenly Keys in holy places. This tower is holy, so of course no darkness can enter in! And if I am not mistaken that key is the key of the Phoenix, which explains the healing aura when we entered the tower.' Both Laxus and Lucy looked at him with surprise and concern when he suddenly dropped to his knees, tears streaming down his face. "Loke are you okay?! You're seriously worrying me here. Loke!" Loke looked up at Lucy when she spoke, "She healed you. Even before she was contracted to you, she healed you!" Still crying he lunged forward and hugger her tightly. Laxus looked at Lucy, his eyes wide in confusion. Lucy looked at him over Loke's head, and shrugged, shaking her head to show that she had no idea what he was talking about either. Then she froze, Loke's words sinking in, "Wait do you mean that the Phoenix healed me, even though I hadn't formed a contract with her yet?!" Loke nodded, finally regaining his composure, "Yes, she did." Laxus and Lucy looked at the key that Lucy held in her hand with newfound wonder. Then Loke tapped her on the shoulder, gaining her attention. "Why don't you make a contract with her? Your magic levels are fine for that." Lucy nodded and nearly ran outside, Loke and Laxus following.

Once outside she stood, with her feet planted shoulder's width apart and held the key out in front of her, "I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits! Now! O Spirit, answer my call and pass through the Gate! Gate of the Phoenix, I open thee!" The spirit appeared in a burst of golden-white fire, in the form of a great bird, before morphing into the most beautiful woman Lucy had ever seen. She had pale gold hair that fell nearly to the ground, golden eyes, and pale skin. She wore a long white dress with a slit that ran up to her hip, and a band around her upper chest and shoulders that was decorated with gold embroideries and beads, and on her back she had gold and white wings of a strange design. She smiled at Lucy kindly, "Hello, young one. My name is Lumien, I am a healer." Lucy stirred out of her stupor and asked, "Hello Lumien. Would you like to make a contract with me?" She bowed her head in a slow nod, "Yes, I would be glad to." Her voice was like light and honey, sweet and gentle making Lucy feel at ease. "Well then, what days are you available?" Lumien smiled, "I am available whenever you have need of me. In addition, the power that you use to summon me will be returned to you when I return. Also, I like young Loke here, I can come out on my own if I feel that I am needed," and glancing at Laxus with a glimmer of fun in her eyes, "Even as a chaperone."

Laxus turned red and looked away at that, while Lucy laughed and Loke grinned. Her laughter dying down to giggles Lucy asked, "Just out of curiosity, you don't have to answer this if you don't want to, but, how many of you are there, Heavenly Keys I mean." Lumien chuckled as she stumbled over her words, "That is alright child, I am happy to answer your question. There are nine of us, one for each of the base elements of nature, and one other." Laxus spoke up at that, "I thought there were ten elements." Lumien shook her head, "There are ten _dragon_ elements, but there are in truth only eight elements, and two of them are essentially the same element." Lucy looked at her, "What do you mean, 'two of them are essentially the same element'?" "That is because in the base elements of nature, ice and water are the same element, just in different forms." Lucy nodded, the explanation making sense. Then a thought occurred to her, "If there are only seven base elements of nature, then why are there ten dragon elements?" Lumien looked at her and smiled wryly, "That is because they took the element of water and split it into its light and dark sides and added two other elements. The elements they added were poison and iron." Laxus cocked his head, "Why aren't poison and iron elements of nature?" Lumien looked at him, "That is because they are both made up of more than one of the elements of nature. Poison is made of darkness and water. Iron is made of earth, and fire." All three stared at her in shock, then Lucy piped up, "Then why can't an Iron dragon slayer eat fire and earth? And my friend Gajeel can use darkness as well, so why can he use that?" Lumien turned her head to face her, "They cannot eat fire and earth on their own because they are too tightly entwined together in iron. To answer your second question, all dragon slayers can use a second element when they find one that is compatible with their original element and their own personality. I know for a fact that darkness tends to be a very good mix with the element of iron."

Loke, who had quietly listened until then, spoke up, "I'm sorry to but in, but could we go back to the light and dark sides of an element thing? That is the first I have ever heard of it." Lumien looked at him and smiled, "Of course Loke. Each element: earth, wind, fire, water, light, darkness, and thunder; all have light and dark sides." "Wait, there is a light side to darkness and a dark side to light?" Laxus interjected. Lumien nodded, "Yes, though they are generally not called as such. For darkness, the light side of the element is the peace of the night, the gentle quiet of sleep, and the heavy dark before dawn. Most of those who wield the element of darkness, can only wield the light side of darkness. In fact only one person can use the dark side of darkness and she wields it with utmost care and wisdom." Lucy asked timidly, "Um, what is the dark side of darkness?" Lumien looked at her sadly, "Death. Complete and total death, which can kill even the gods." Lucy's eyes widened I fear. Laxus put his arm around her and asked, "What about Zeref? He uses death spells." Lumien shook her head, "Even he cannot truly use the dark side of darkness, only a fraction, and even then it still takes its toll on him, forcing him to live longer with each life he takes, while slowly weakening his body. Also, he can only kill those who are mortal. He cannot kill immortal beings such as true demons and gods." Loke looked at her brows knitted together, "You said it makes him live longer with each kill, so how old is the person who _can_ truly use the dark side of darkness?" Lumien looked sorrowful as she answered his question, "She is well over 95,000 years old. There was a rebellion among the gods 95,000 years ago, and she was called in to slay the usurper, as she was the only one that could. As a result, she was made immortal by the life that she took, and suffers in silence even now, with all her mortal friends gone. I pray that she will find some kind of hope to light up her life each time that I think about her." They all bowed their heads for a moment, silently thinking about that woman, and what she must have suffered. Then Lucy raised her head and refocused. At that moment her stomach chose to make itself known with a loud rumble. "How about we take the rest of this discussion inside. And Lumien, do you mind if I send you back now so that you can come back on your own? I'm starting to run a little low on magic." Lumien nodded and Lucy sent her back, clipping her key onto her key ring. And just as she had said, the magic Lucy has used to summon Lumien returned to her. The three went inside and Lumien reappeared next to them.

They took a few minutes to get a meal together, and then sat down to eat and continue their discussion. Lucy turned to Lumien, "Now that we have covered the element of darkness, what about the element of light? How on earth does it have a dark side?" Lumien laughed, "Truthfully, it does not truly have a dark side. Light does however, still have two sides. The "dark side" is the most common actually, and it is known better as Holy." Lucy dropped the bread she was eating as she stared at Lumien, "Holy is the _dark _side of light?! Then what is the light side?!" Lumien smiled, "Healing." Laxus frowned in confusion, "But wait, isn't wind the healing element?" Lumien chuckled, "That is the light side of wind, however, its power still is not anywhere near the power of the light side of light." Laxus raised his brows at her, and Lumien smiled, "Wind can heal yes, but light is the most powerful healing element of all, calling upon the powers of the moon and stars and even the sun to some extent, to heal. With it a person can heal any illness, poison or wound, and if powerful enough, can even resurrect the dead, bringing them back to true life. However, this power comes at a cost." Loke looked at her with worry, "What cost?" She sighed and bowed her head, "The person who wields this power cannot bring harm to anyone or anything. And if they kill with their power, they will die as well. Essentially, they are defenseless, unless they learn a way to fight that does not use their power. There is only one person who can wield this power and she is known as the Lady Healer, or the Great Healer, and dwells in the Temple of the All Mother in the flying city of Ulthuan." "The what?!" was their response. She chuckled, "The flying city of Ulthuan. It is one of several and is the capital city of the oldest race, the Eldar. However, unless you actually go to one of their cities, I sincerely doubt you will encounter them. Their job is to watch over all of the younger races and keep them in line. They do not however, interfere with any of the other races unless they mess something up quite badly. In which case they will come down and set everything to rights and stay for little while to make sure that that particular thing doesn't happen again. It has happened only once in all the history of the human race, so I doubt you will ever meet them. But I digress, you wanted to know more about the elements." They nodded, finished with their meal with their plates set to the side.

"Well then, to continue. The other elements do not have quite as much power vested in them as light and darkness, but they are powerful all the same. The light side of earth is growing things, such as flowers, vines, trees. This also comes with a mild healing ability, though very minor. Most of the light sides of elements come with varying degrees of healing power." They nodded, that somehow made sense, considering the light side of light. Lumien continued, "The dark side of earth is essentially, natural disasters and unrestrained growth. That is, earthquakes and landslides, and plants that take over their environments. All of the elements' dark sides are destructive and attack based in some way." They nodded once again, the explanation making sense, as most would expect the dark side of something to be destructive. "The light side of wind as you know is mainly healing, but also has attacking abilities and very strong defensive abilities. The defensive abilities of wind are actually greater than the healing abilities." Lucy, Laxus, and Loke all looked at each other in shock, that meant that Wendy could learn some really awesome defensive spells, they turned back to Lumien as she continued to speak, "The dark side of wind is natural disasters such as tornadoes and hurricanes, as well as great gusts of wind that could slice buildings in half. Both light and dark sides are also very useful for transport." Laxus raised his brows at that, "But wouldn't that use up too much magic?" "Actually no, it takes very little magic to be able to fly with wind, even if you take passengers along with you." "Nice." Lumien smiled, "Now, the dark side of water, you already know, is ice. And as you know, it has many applications. The light side of water, is of course, water. It also comes with healing abilities, rather large ones at that. The healing ability of water is about on par with the healing ability of wind, though most water users don't know that as it has become a rather little known fact." They looked at her in surprise and she nodded. "Continuing on, the dark side of fire is things such as forest fires and volcanic eruptions. Uncontrolled flame as it were. The light side of fire is what brings warmth and light to your home and keeps the dark at bay at night. Controlled fire as it were." Lucy snorted, "That means that Natsu is halfway between the two." The two men chuckled at her comment and Lumien smiled. "Yes, fire users usually are somewhere in between, especially in behavior and temperament." The other three laughed outright at this and she waited until they calmed down to continue. "Now, the final element is thunder, which is more commonly known here as lightning. It is considered on par with light and darkness, if only because, unlike all of the other elements, it has no opposite, and thus nothing can directly counter it." Laxus looked at her, his eyes wide in surprise. Lumien smiled at him and continued, "Lightning is also unique in that it is hard to tell between the light and dark sides of the element. But it can be done. The light side of lightning is actually called the "balance" side as it creates balance between other elements. Most notably, ice and fire. There are people out there that can use both elements, but they also have the element of thunder in their magical make-up allowing them to be able to use both elements, even at the same time." All three looked amazed at that statement and Lucy and Loke both looked at Laxus, who blushed under their attention. Lumien chuckled at their interaction, "The balance side of thunder is actually quite rare to find on its own and you will usually only find it either in people who use more than one element, or together with the dark side of lightning, which is part of why it is so hard to tell them apart. Now the dark side of thunder is possibly the most destructive of all the elements, part of why it comes part and parcel with the balance side of thunder. It is represented in nature by lightning and thunder storms, and the lightning that touches the ground, creating scorch marks and forest fires. The most unique thing about thunder, that makes it different from any other element, it that as I have previously stated, both the light and dark sides are inherited together, which does not happen for any other element." They all looked at her with shocked faces, "Yes, all magic users, with the sole exception of thunder, use only the light or dark sides of the element. Now concerning the other Heavenly Keys they wield both sides of the element they use, with the exceptions of the water and ice Heavenly Keys."

Lucy nodded, that made sense, and spoke up, "Well now that we have learned about the elements, do you think you could tell us where to go from here. I think I am right in assuming that we will be heading out in the morning." Loke and Laxus nodded as she pulled out the map from one of the packs. Opening it up, she showed it to Lumien and froze and stared at it. It had changed from showing the world to showing a series of seven islands, the path marked on the map going through each one and ending at the largest one. Lumien chuckled at her confusion, "This map is a very special map; that shows where you need to go, zooming in as it were, so as to minimize confusion, making sure you stay on the right path." Lucy looked at it in amazement, then grinned, she _loved_ this map. Then pointing at the map, Lumien waved Laxus and Loke over and they peered at the map over Lucy's shoulder, "This is where we are now," she said, pointing to a small black dot on the map, "there is path that goes by this tower, leading from the tunnel at the base of the mountains down the cliff, and to the shore at the bottom. If you stay on the path you will safely make it down. Also once you are on the shore you will see a mound of rock sticking out of the sand forming a cave. I suggest you go in there, because you will find something there that will make your journey infinitely easier. And faster too." Lucy eagerly listed and made a mental note to look for that cave when they got down there. "When you exit the cave, just follow the path marked on the map and you will get to your destination." Lucy smiled, "Thank you Lumien, and thank you for all that you have told us. And thank you for saving my life." Loke looked at her in shock, how could she tell? Lucy looked back at him, "I would have to be a dunce not to figure out that she had helped heal me, and was a large part of why the treatment you used worked, when I was literally at death's door." She turned back to Lumien, who smiled at her and kissed her on the forehead. "Now it is getting late, and you have a long day ahead of you. So get eat some dinner and then get some sleep. I will be going back to the spirit world now, so I bid you all a good night." And so saying she faded back into the spirit world. Then Loke coughed drawing their attention to him, "Unfortunately, I have to go back to the spirit world as well. I have used up quite a bit of my energy this past week, so I must tell you good night as well." Lucy got up and gave him a hug, "Good night Loke, and I will not call you for a couple of days to make sure you get some proper rest." Loke smiled, "Okay, but if you are in trouble and you don't call me, you will be in trouble with me, you got that?" Lucy giggled and nodded, "I will make sure to call you if we end up in serious trouble." Satisfied with her answer, Loke turned to Laxus, "Take care of her okay. And if any of us finds out you have hurt Lucy in any way, there will be hell to pay." Laxus nodded and stepped forward putting his arm around Lucy's waist, "Don't you worry, I will keep her safe. And I promise I won't hurt her, but if I do, you have my permission to beat the crap out of me." Loke grinned at that, and with a last wave, disappeared into the spirit world.

Lucy yawned, suddenly tired and sat down. Laxus looked at her and said, "I will make dinner, so just sit tight there and I will have dinner ready soon and then we can go to bed." Lucy just nodded, caught up in another yawn as she sleepily watched him make dinner. When he was done, he had to wake her up and coax her into eating. As soon as they were done eating, Lucy crawled over to her bedding and curled up, going to sleep almost instantly. Laxus smiled at her and cleaned the dishes they had used and put them back into their bag. After, he made his way over to Lucy and laid down beside her, one arm over her waist.

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**AN: I hope I didn't go overboard with the learning part. That had to happen though, otherwise the rest of the story wouldn't make much sense. Well, please R&amp;R, and you will get to see the next chapter!**


	10. The Sea Dragon

**Hello everybody, I just wanted you to know that I am not dead! I was very busy with work and moving all summer, then work and school. But, I pulled through, and here is the long awaited update!**

**Disclaimer:**** I do not own Fairy Tail, as much as I want to.**

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Journey to the Beginning Ch. 10

The Sea Dragon

The next morning Laxus and Lucy woke up fully entangled. "And we didn't even _do_ anything last night," Laxus said with a grin, causing Lucy to giggle. They finally extracted themselves and made use of the bathroom in a bag. Laxus stepped in with Lucy when she went to shower and change, "Perv," Lucy giggled. "But you love me anyway." Was Laxus's comment, "Don't worry, you will lose your virginity on a nice comfy bed and not in a shower in a bag, while we are on a mission." Lucy slapped him on the arm at that, blushing the same shade as Erza's hair, and climbed in the shower, Laxus right behind her. They explored each other's bodies, washing each other in the shower, though for the sake of their libido's they let each other wash their own private parts, except for Lucy's breasts, which she giggled and then moaned at, Laxus grinning. "You can't expect any sane guy to keep his hands away from them," was the reasoning he gave her.

Stepping out of the shower they dried each other off, once again making sure to avoid any overly provocative parts of the other's body. They then got dressed, knowing that they had to hurry, to be ready before they got interrupted by Virgo that they had set with her the night before. Finally dressed, they walked out to see Virgo waiting for them with breakfast set out for them. As they ate, Virgo packed away all of the bags except for two new ones she had brought for them. They were two small bags, one was a fanny pack that clasped around the waist, and one was a shoulder pack, which could be slung over one shoulder. After finishing eating, they got up and turned, noticing that their bedding was gone as well. Virgo handed them their packs, giving Lucy the fanny pack, and Laxus the shoulder pack. "These packs hold two changes of clothes and food and water for a week. Is there anything else that you need done before you go Princess?" "No Virgo, thank you for the packs. You can go back now." Virgo bowed and disappeared, going back to the spirit world. Lucy turned to Laxus, "Ready to go?" As an answer, Laxus grinned at her and led the way out of the tower and into the early morning sunlight.

The two headed down the path Lumien had told them about yesterday, heading down the cliff. The path was very long, and before they were even halfway down it was growing dark, and that was when Lucy noticed the alcove, just to the side of the path. "Sparky look!" She pointed to the alcove and Laxus turned off the path towards it, checking for anything dangerous before entering. Seeing nothing he settled down, and opened his pack, looking inside. He snorted, "Looks like your spirit Virgo didn't tell us everything that is in these packs." He then pulled a tent and a sleeping bag out of hi pack and set them up. Lucy looked into her bag with some shock, and pulled out another sleeping bag and some firewood and fire starter. They saw that this was probably used by other travelers, because they noticed an indentation that could only be a fire pit with its location in the alcove. They placed the fire starter in the pit and lit it, adding wood when it was strong enough. They kept the fire small, and cooked some of the food that Virgo had given them, and settled down for the night in the tent, after banking the fire.

The next morning they broke camp, setting the routine, for the next two days. On their fourth day of travel after they had left the tower, they finally reached the shore at the bottom of the cliff, near noon. They sat near the cliff, and ate a quick lunch. After she finished, Lucy jumped up, looking for the cave that Lumien had mentioned. She saw it when she looked to her left. The mound of rock wasn't very large, and the entrance was barely larger than Laxus. She ran towards it, Laxus telling her to wait a moment. "I'll be right back," she called out. Laxus shook his head, as she disappeared into the cave. "That isn't what I asked her," he grumbled to himself, and took off after her into the cave.

Catching up to Lucy, Laxus grabbed her arm and turned her to face him. "Next time, listen to me when I ask you to do something. I know we already had a talk about this." Lucy mumbled something and looked down. Laxus wrapped her up in a hug and held her for a moment. Lifting her head up, he gave her a gentle kiss. "You have been partnered with Flame-brain way too long Blondie." Lucy giggled at that and Laxus said, "Let's keep going." Lucy nodded and led the way down what now appeared to be a rather long and narrow tunnel. They went around a bend in the tunnel and stopped, amazed. The previously dark, stone tunnel was now lit and had large windows that arched up from ground level to several feet over their heads, connecting to a beam of stone in the middle, showing the ocean all around them. The light they discovered, came from glow stones attached to the beams that supported the large windows on the sides, lighting up the water around them as well. They walked down the large tunnel until they approached what looked like a small shrine made of sea stone and coral, at the end of the tunnel.

They walked into the shrine and stopped for a moment. The shrine was roofed in the same material that made the giant windows of the tunnel, and was surrounded on the edge by glow stones, lighting up the single room that the shrine consisted of. The room itself was circular and the walls were covered in carvings of sea creatures, mermaids, and other undersea denizens, prominently featuring sea serpents. Their eyes are finally drawn to the middle of the room, where a pedestal stood. It was magnificently carved to look like a dragon was twined around it. On top of the pedestal, was a key. The key was a deep blue with the face of a dragon forming the base of the key. They eyes were sapphires and the scales were the deep blue of the key, edged in grey and light blue. The dragon's body wrapped around the stem of the key until it reached the bottom, where the end of the key was formed by the tip of its tail.

Lucy reached forward, awed. Lumien had told them that it would make travel by sea easier and faster, but she had never expected it to be this. "What is it?" Laxus asked. Lucy slowly turned to face him eyes wide, "This is the key for Leviathan, the Great Sea Dragon. The Heavenly Key of water." Looking at the key, she reached out and grabbed Laxus's hand and practically ran out of the shrine and back up the tunnel, only slowing down when the tunnel narrowed. Running out of the tunnel, she approaches the water, going knee deep, before plunging the key into the water and calling out, "I am linked to the path to the world of Celestial Spirits! Now! O Spirit, answer my call and pass through the Gate! Gate of the Sea Dragon, I open thee!" There was a flash of light, and a great pillar of water formed, towering over their heads, its current tugging at their hair. The pillar of water formed into the largest dragon she had ever seen, easily dwarfing any of the dragons she had seen at the GMG. She estimated that he had to be at least 500 feet long. However, his legs were tiny compared to the rest of his body, so short, it almost looked as if his body were resting on the ground. His body extended past his front legs, to look like a giant neck of uniform width, until the very end where it narrowed, just before his head began. His head, just like the rest of his body, was long and sleek, ending in a slender snout that very much resembled that of a sea serpents. He also had two long whiskers that trailed almost to the ground from where they began, just below his nostrils, looking like a long, whip thin, mustache. The colors of his scales were almost the same color as his key, with all of them bearing a more grey tone.

Leviathan looked down at Lucy, "Hello child. My name is Leviathan. What might yours be?" Lucy took a moment to find her voice, "My name is Lucy, and my companion here is Laxus." Leviathan briefly turned his powerful gaze on Laxus, making him swallow, staring up at the giant head that towered more than a hundred feet above him. Leviathan then turned his gaze back on Lucy. "Leviathan, would you like to make a contract with me?" Lucy asked, as confidently as she could under the circumstances. Leviathan seemed to smile (you really couldn't tell with his face being shaped the way it was). "I would be glad to enter a contract with you Lucy." "Okay! So what are your powers and when are you available?" "I am available at any time. My powers are control over all the waters in the seas and on land. I can attack with the water and I do have minor healing ability, though that is not my specialty. I can also take you wherever you need to go by sea or over land." "Over land?" "Yes, like all dragons I have wings, they are just not visible to you at the moment." Lucy nodded, and completed the contract. "Well for now, do you think you could help us travel where we need to go? We are following the path on this map," she showed Leviathan the map and he bent down to be able to see it better. "I see. I can definitely take you there and continue between islands, though, because I am encumbered by the length of my legs on land, I will wait for you on the other side of each island. They are too small for me to fly over and accurately tell where I am going. Also, if you would like you can send me back and I will return under my own power so yours does not burn out." Lucy smiled, "That would be wonderful." She sent him back to the spirit world and he returned, not a minute later, but with much less flash than his first appearance. "All right you two, climb on. But watch my wings, you will want to sit between them." Lucy and Laxus looked at each other and shrugged, the still could not see any wings, but figured they would understand when they got up there. Leviathan bent down and helped them up with his tail. When they were on his back they saw what he meant. His wings were tiny and feathered, clearly not big enough to bear him in flight. As they sat between them Laxus asked, "Forgive me but how are you going to fly, your wings are barely big enough to bear a bird in flight let alone you." Leviathan chuckled, "That is because that is their condensed for that does not impede my movement when swimming, they extend when I fly. Now hold on tight, we will travel faster if I fly." As he spoke, his previously tiny wings extended into enormous, narrow wings that were in proportion to his body, and with a light push and a flap of his wings, took off. They headed east, the direction the map lead.

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**A.N.- Hello, I know it has been a very long time, but I hope that I will be able to update again soon! I have the next several chapters planned out, I just need to write them. R&amp;R please, and as always, constructive criticism is appreciated.**


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